Episode 1445: CC Me
Date October 18, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their upcoming live event, review ALCS Game 4, the Yankees’ precarious position, and the career and last appearance of CC Sabathia, then discuss the significance of MLB both allowing investment funds to take minority stakes in multiple clubs and proposing to downsize and reorganize the minor leagues before wrapping up by answering listener emails about whether the Cardinals’ season was a success and whether it would make sense to change the playoff structure to make repeat appearances less common. Topics * ALCS game 4 * CC Sabathia's injury and career reflection * Potential uses of 'The Strategy' in the playoffs * Possible World Series pitching matchups * MLB changes to ownership rules * Possibility of investment funds purchasing minority stakes in MLB teams * Maximizing profit vs. team and fan interest * Potential cutback in minor league teams and leagues * Was the Cardinals' season a success? * Limiting return playoff teams * Impact of the home run rate on fan interest Intro Uncle Tulepo, "Cold Shoulder" Outro Golden Earrings, "Cut 'Em Down to Size" Banter * Ben and Meg will be emceeing a FanGraphs live event in New York on November 21st. * There will be a live stream for Patreon supporters during ALCS game 6. Email Questions * Matthew: "Should the Cardinals/fans view their season as a success? On the one hand, they made it back into the playoffs and took the division back from the Cubs, and even made it to the NLCS to boot. On the other hand, the way they lost the NLCS. The offense looks decidedly mediocre, and both big trades to address that (Ozuna and Goldschmidt) have not panned out as planned. There's an arguable bright future ahead built around Flaherty, but the Cardinals can't love any of the guys they're tied long-term to (Carpenter especially at this point, but also Fowler and, to a lesser extent, Goldschmidt). Carlos Martinez went from a bargain ace to another volatile reliever. Thoughts?" * Alex: "If baseball were different, how different would it be if only a maximum of five of the previous year's playoff teams could return the following year? If more than five of the previous year's teams would otherwise qualify for the playoffs, only the five with the best record could enter. Would this decrease the number of superteams? Could it cut down on teams doing long term rebuilds/ tanking, since they can't count on being the most dominant team for several years in a row?" Notes * Adam Ottavino has set a record with four outings in this postseason where he didn't record an out. * One of the reasons for a potential change to MLB ownership rules is that as franchise valuations have dramatically increased it has been harder to find minority owners willing to pay the full cost of a team share. * Both Ben and Meg agree that the Cardinals' season should be viewed as a success. * In discussing Alex's question Ben and Meg worry that the system proposed would prevent infrequent playoff contenders from sneaking in because they would not have enough wins to knock out other teams (such as the Brewers in 2019). Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1445: CC Me * FanGraphs Live! Event in New York * Do the Yankees Have Any Chance to Get Back Into the ALCS? by Ben Lindbergh * Joe Girardi on CC Sabathia's final outing * One Weird Trick to Beat MLB Batters by Ben Lindbergh * Investors Get Path to Buy Into Major League Baseball Teams by Scott Soshnick * So You Wanna Buy a Baseball Team by Ben Clemens * MLB Proposal Would Eliminate 42 Minor League Teams by J.J. Cooper * Do We Even Need Minor League Baseball? by Travis Sawchick * Minor League Baseball posts attendance increase of over one million fans in 2019 * Only 6% Say Interest in Baseball Will Decrease if Home Runs Decline by Seton Hall Sports Poll * Joe Roegele's analysis of the 2019 strike zone Category:Episodes